"Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands at a distance; for truth stumbles in the public square, and uprightness cannot enter. Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The Lord saw it, and it displeased [God] that there was no justice."
- Isaiah 59:14-15
THE right-wing gop / tea-bagger extremist would probably question my patriotism if they knew when I first registered to vote in 1976 it was as a member of the Socialist Workers Party in Pennsylvania, and that the FBI started a file on me while I was in the 9th grade, and that I have been arrested 4 times for nonviolent civil disobedience protesting against American government policy, marched against the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and against our continued involvement in Afghanistan. I have been active in Progressive politics ever since I was able to understand what was going on. The re-emergence of the mccarthy attitude in American politics, along with the vehement anti non-white immigration and the push for restrictive, discriminatory voter I.D. requirements is very disturbing. It almost seems like the repiglicans and tea-baggers are trying to emulate the repressive regimes of nazi germany or the stalinist ussr or mao's cultural revolutionary china, like they are getting ready to launch political pogroms against everyone who dares challenge them. It is frightening because they actually have a chance of winning the presidency and control of the government in this next election, and there aren't enough people in the Republican Party like Sen McCain to stand up against them and to stop their assault on our Republic, our Constitution. This from the Washington Post....
UPDATE AT 1719 19JUL12 Here is what Rep John Boehner had to say about Huma Abedin and the smear campaign against her
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) commenting on letters from five Republican lawmakers detailing allegations against Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin:
"I don't know Huma. But from everything that I do know of her, she has a sterling character, and I think accusations like this being thrown around are pretty dangerous."
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) strongly defended Huma Abedin on Wednesday. (Don Burk - AP)
John Sununu apologized, not for the sentiment but for these words: “I wish this president would learn how to be an American.”
Former White House chief of staff and former New Hampshire governor John Sununu with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year. (Jim Cole - AP)
The former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff was speaking as a Mitt Romney surrogate, and the message was an old one, heard since Barack Obama was a presidential candidate. “This guy is not really one of us. He’s someone and something else.” Got it. Heard it. Sure we’ll hear it again and again. Birth certificates are no longer enough. From now on, one must pass the Sununu citizenship test.
Even for those who accept that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, it is, don’t you know, a state unlike any other – multiracial, multicultural and in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sununu, who was born in Havana, Cuba, has looked at the president’s background and decided it doesn’t fit, all irony apparently lost amid the bluster.
His guy Romney, whose father was born in Mexico, mostly stood back looking sheepish. Plausible deniability is what it’s usually called.
In another case of “are you now or have you ever been,” a voice rising in defense of the latest accused American was Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, living up to his one-time maverick label.
He strongly defended Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton aide Huma Abedin against unproven accusations that tie her to a supposed conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the U.S. government.
McCain said on the Senate floor: “Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully.”
Then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) with Huma Abedin at the start of a March 19, 2008, campaign rally at Capital High School in Charleston, W.Va. (Charles Dharapak - AP)
While that should be the end of it, with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and other members of Congress floating the charges and asking for investigations, the issue is not likely to die. All it takes is murky guilt by association and a dose of hysteria.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) speaks after the Supreme Court upheld President Obama's health-care law. (Mark Wilson - Getty Images)
I’m still trying to figure out these new rules. What do they mean? That some later additions to the United States — we’re talking Alaska, home of Sarah Palin — are unquestionably American. Presumably, extreme weather conditions, oil pipelines and the whole shooting wolves from helicopters thing help it pass muster. While Hawaii, after all its years flying the American flag, remains a nice place to visit but you can’t trust anybody who lives there kind of place.
And some children of immigrants, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) of Louisiana, who is on Romney’s vice presidential short list, and Gov. Nikki Haley (R) of South Carolina are loyal Americans, while others are security risks. It helps if you’re a conservative Republican governor.
What sounds silly at first, the blunders of clumsy political opportunists, is starting to veer into frightening and familiar territory, a throwback to a part of life in the 1950s for which no one should harbor any nostalgia.
Americans aren’t endorsing a return to the “Red Scare,” when being a union or civil rights activist could be enough to warrant an appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. But plenty of people are shouting accusations of communist, socialist and fascist from placards and rooftops. At the top of their list is the democratically elected president of the United States.
You would think Obama’s achievements and the life he’s made with his wife and children illustrate the fulfillment of the American dream — a man without family name or fortune rising through hard work and education to the nation’s highest office — even if you disagree with his economic plan or health-care law and want to vote him out in November.
But some opponents need to make him a man without a country, to use the ugly language of an ugly time to do it and to put his supporters in the same boat, preferably one headed away from U.S. shores.
This year, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) echoed the language of senator Joe McCarthy when he said, “I believe there is about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party,” and he didn’t back down.
It’s troubling when Sununu, Bachmann, West and so many others are only too willing to take on the un-American job of deciding who belongs in America, the first and only one rule being, agree with us on matters of politics and policy or — as West instructed liberals — get out.
Where are all the voices of reason to pull them back, to ask, as the Army’s lawyer Joseph Welch once asked of McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” McCain has stepped up; who’s in line behind him?
Are Bachmann and Sununu attacks part of a new McCarthyism?
Huma Abedin, photographed with her husband, then-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), in January 2011. (Charles Dharapak)
This post has been updated.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) struck back hard at unproven accusations Wednesday that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the top reaches of the U.S. government.
McCain, often considered the GOP’s leading voice on foreign affairs, said the accusations made by House Republicans against Huma Abedin are “an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”
Abedin, 37, is also the wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who resigned in disgrace last year after he sent inappropriate pictures of himself to women via Twitter.
In a floor speech Wednesday, McCain defended Abedin, calling her “an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.
“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,” McCain said. “I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.”
Read the full text of McCain’s statement
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). (JEFF HAYNES - REUTERS) McCain recounted recent accusations by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) that Abedin, who is a Muslim American, is part of a conspiracy led by the Muslim Brotherhood to influence U.S. foreign policy to advance Islamist causes.
The lawmakers have sent letters to inspectors general at the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State asking about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the group calls for “civilization jihad.”
McCain struck back hard at his Republican colleagues.
“These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way,” McCain said. “These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit. And they need to stop now.
In response to McCain’s remarks, Bachmann said that her inquiries “are unfortunately being distorted.”
“The intention of the letters was to outline the serious national security concerns I had and ask for answers to questions regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical group’s access to top Obama administration officials,” Bachmann said in a statement issued by her office.
Bachmann cited her concerns that Egyptian Hani Nour Eldin, a known member of terror group Gamaa Islamiya, had been granted a visa to visit the United States and then meet with administration officials while in Washington.
“This is just the latest example of the dangerous national security decisions made by the Obama administration,” Bachmann said. “I will not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces.”
McCain then waxed personal, recalling a trip he took a few years ago with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and then-Sen. Clinton, who was accompanied by Abedin.
“I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York – a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.”
McCain then concluded: “I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”
In an e-mail, Weiner expressed thanks to McCain for his comments.
“My family and I are grateful to Senator McCain,” Weiner said. “I think he spoke for many Americans in expressing his disgust for the charge against my wife.”
A spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) declined to comment. In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised McCain for “his powerful rejection of these baseless accusations.”
“Every wave of new immigrants to America has faced a wave of ignorance and discrimination,” Pelosi said. “I would have hoped that this type of discourse no longer existed in our country, but clearly we have more educating to do with respect to what America is about.”
The controversy comes as Weiner has dismissed reports this week that he is seeking to run for New York City mayor or another political office — and just one day after People Magazine published a new article about the couple’s reconciliation process since last year’s scandal.
In the article, Abedin said, “It took a lot of work to get to where are are today, but I want people to know we’re a normal family.”
“Anthony has spent every day since [the scandal] trying to be the best dad and husband he can be,” Abedin told People. “I’m proud to be married to him.”
Among other details, the article said Weiner is now responsible for doing “all” of the couple’s laundry.
This story has been updated.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Full Text: McCain Defends Huma Abedin on Senate Floor
“Mr. President: Rarely do I come to the floor of this institution to discuss particular individuals. But I understand how painful and injurious it is when a person’s character, reputation, and patriotism are attacked without concern for fact or fairness. It is for that reason that I rise today to speak in defense of Huma Abedin.
“Over the past decade, I have had the pleasure of coming to know Huma during her long and dedicated service to Hillary Rodham Clinton, both in the United States Senate and now in the Department of State. I know Huma to be an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working, and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth, and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.
“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully. I am proud to know Huma, and to call her my friend.
“Recently, it has been alleged that Huma, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States by unduly influencing U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist causes. On June 13, five members of Congress wrote to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State, demanding that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Huma and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government. The information offered to support these serious allegations is based on a report, ‘The Muslim Brotherhood in America,’ produced by the Center for Security Policy.
“To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant.
“The letter alleges that three members of Huma’s family are ‘connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations.’ Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago. The letter and the report offer not one instance of an action, a decision, or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government. Nor does either document offer any evidence of a direct impact that Huma may have had on one of the U.S. policies with which the authors of the letter and the producers of the report find fault. These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.
“Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.
“Our reputations, our character, are the only things we leave behind when we depart this earth, and unjust attacks that malign the good name of a decent and honorable person is not only wrong; it is contrary to everything we hold dear as Americans.
“Some years ago, I had the pleasure, along with my friend, the Senator from South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, of traveling overseas with our colleague, then-Senator Hillary Clinton. By her side, as always, was Huma, and I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York - a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.
“I have every confidence in Huma’s loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well. All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”
Follow Ed O’Keefe on Twitter: @edatpost
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/john-mccain-defends-huma-abedin-against-accusations-shes-part-of-conspiracy/2012/07/18/gJQAFpxntW_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
Former White House chief of staff and former New Hampshire governor John Sununu with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney last year. (Jim Cole - AP)
The former New Hampshire governor and White House chief of staff was speaking as a Mitt Romney surrogate, and the message was an old one, heard since Barack Obama was a presidential candidate. “This guy is not really one of us. He’s someone and something else.” Got it. Heard it. Sure we’ll hear it again and again. Birth certificates are no longer enough. From now on, one must pass the Sununu citizenship test.
Even for those who accept that Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, it is, don’t you know, a state unlike any other – multiracial, multicultural and in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sununu, who was born in Havana, Cuba, has looked at the president’s background and decided it doesn’t fit, all irony apparently lost amid the bluster.
His guy Romney, whose father was born in Mexico, mostly stood back looking sheepish. Plausible deniability is what it’s usually called.
In another case of “are you now or have you ever been,” a voice rising in defense of the latest accused American was Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, living up to his one-time maverick label.
He strongly defended Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton aide Huma Abedin against unproven accusations that tie her to a supposed conspiracy of the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the U.S. government.
McCain said on the Senate floor: “Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully.”
Then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) with Huma Abedin at the start of a March 19, 2008, campaign rally at Capital High School in Charleston, W.Va. (Charles Dharapak - AP)
While that should be the end of it, with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and other members of Congress floating the charges and asking for investigations, the issue is not likely to die. All it takes is murky guilt by association and a dose of hysteria.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) speaks after the Supreme Court upheld President Obama's health-care law. (Mark Wilson - Getty Images)
I’m still trying to figure out these new rules. What do they mean? That some later additions to the United States — we’re talking Alaska, home of Sarah Palin — are unquestionably American. Presumably, extreme weather conditions, oil pipelines and the whole shooting wolves from helicopters thing help it pass muster. While Hawaii, after all its years flying the American flag, remains a nice place to visit but you can’t trust anybody who lives there kind of place.
And some children of immigrants, Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) of Louisiana, who is on Romney’s vice presidential short list, and Gov. Nikki Haley (R) of South Carolina are loyal Americans, while others are security risks. It helps if you’re a conservative Republican governor.
What sounds silly at first, the blunders of clumsy political opportunists, is starting to veer into frightening and familiar territory, a throwback to a part of life in the 1950s for which no one should harbor any nostalgia.
Americans aren’t endorsing a return to the “Red Scare,” when being a union or civil rights activist could be enough to warrant an appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. But plenty of people are shouting accusations of communist, socialist and fascist from placards and rooftops. At the top of their list is the democratically elected president of the United States.
You would think Obama’s achievements and the life he’s made with his wife and children illustrate the fulfillment of the American dream — a man without family name or fortune rising through hard work and education to the nation’s highest office — even if you disagree with his economic plan or health-care law and want to vote him out in November.
But some opponents need to make him a man without a country, to use the ugly language of an ugly time to do it and to put his supporters in the same boat, preferably one headed away from U.S. shores.
This year, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) echoed the language of senator Joe McCarthy when he said, “I believe there is about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party that are members of the Communist Party,” and he didn’t back down.
It’s troubling when Sununu, Bachmann, West and so many others are only too willing to take on the un-American job of deciding who belongs in America, the first and only one rule being, agree with us on matters of politics and policy or — as West instructed liberals — get out.
Where are all the voices of reason to pull them back, to ask, as the Army’s lawyer Joseph Welch once asked of McCarthy, “Have you no sense of decency?” McCain has stepped up; who’s in line behind him?
Are Bachmann and Sununu attacks part of a new McCarthyism?
John McCain defends Huma Abedin against accusations she’s part of conspiracy
Huma Abedin, photographed with her husband, then-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), in January 2011. (Charles Dharapak)
This post has been updated.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) struck back hard at unproven accusations Wednesday that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the top reaches of the U.S. government.
McCain, often considered the GOP’s leading voice on foreign affairs, said the accusations made by House Republicans against Huma Abedin are “an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”
Republican
Sen. John McCain is defending a longtime aide to Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton against unsubstantiated allegations that her
family has ties to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
Abedin is the long-time aide to Clinton who has worked for the former
first lady and U.S. senator since the administration of President Bill
Clinton. In recent years, she served as Hillary Clinton’s “body man”
along the 2008 presidential campaign trail and has traveled the world
with the secretary as a senior State Department aide. The perch means
Abedin is often photographed standing behind Clinton.Abedin, 37, is also the wife of former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who resigned in disgrace last year after he sent inappropriate pictures of himself to women via Twitter.
In a floor speech Wednesday, McCain defended Abedin, calling her “an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.
“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,” McCain said. “I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.”
Read the full text of McCain’s statement
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). (JEFF HAYNES - REUTERS) McCain recounted recent accusations by Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) that Abedin, who is a Muslim American, is part of a conspiracy led by the Muslim Brotherhood to influence U.S. foreign policy to advance Islamist causes.
The lawmakers have sent letters to inspectors general at the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State asking about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the group calls for “civilization jihad.”
McCain struck back hard at his Republican colleagues.
“These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way,” McCain said. “These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis and no merit. And they need to stop now.
In response to McCain’s remarks, Bachmann said that her inquiries “are unfortunately being distorted.”
“The intention of the letters was to outline the serious national security concerns I had and ask for answers to questions regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical group’s access to top Obama administration officials,” Bachmann said in a statement issued by her office.
Bachmann cited her concerns that Egyptian Hani Nour Eldin, a known member of terror group Gamaa Islamiya, had been granted a visa to visit the United States and then meet with administration officials while in Washington.
“This is just the latest example of the dangerous national security decisions made by the Obama administration,” Bachmann said. “I will not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces.”
McCain then waxed personal, recalling a trip he took a few years ago with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and then-Sen. Clinton, who was accompanied by Abedin.
“I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York – a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.”
McCain then concluded: “I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”
In an e-mail, Weiner expressed thanks to McCain for his comments.
“My family and I are grateful to Senator McCain,” Weiner said. “I think he spoke for many Americans in expressing his disgust for the charge against my wife.”
A spokesman for House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) declined to comment. In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) praised McCain for “his powerful rejection of these baseless accusations.”
“Every wave of new immigrants to America has faced a wave of ignorance and discrimination,” Pelosi said. “I would have hoped that this type of discourse no longer existed in our country, but clearly we have more educating to do with respect to what America is about.”
The controversy comes as Weiner has dismissed reports this week that he is seeking to run for New York City mayor or another political office — and just one day after People Magazine published a new article about the couple’s reconciliation process since last year’s scandal.
In the article, Abedin said, “It took a lot of work to get to where are are today, but I want people to know we’re a normal family.”
“Anthony has spent every day since [the scandal] trying to be the best dad and husband he can be,” Abedin told People. “I’m proud to be married to him.”
Among other details, the article said Weiner is now responsible for doing “all” of the couple’s laundry.
This story has been updated.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Full Text: McCain Defends Huma Abedin on Senate Floor
“Mr. President: Rarely do I come to the floor of this institution to discuss particular individuals. But I understand how painful and injurious it is when a person’s character, reputation, and patriotism are attacked without concern for fact or fairness. It is for that reason that I rise today to speak in defense of Huma Abedin.
“Over the past decade, I have had the pleasure of coming to know Huma during her long and dedicated service to Hillary Rodham Clinton, both in the United States Senate and now in the Department of State. I know Huma to be an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working, and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth, and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.
“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully. I am proud to know Huma, and to call her my friend.
“Recently, it has been alleged that Huma, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States by unduly influencing U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist causes. On June 13, five members of Congress wrote to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State, demanding that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Huma and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government. The information offered to support these serious allegations is based on a report, ‘The Muslim Brotherhood in America,’ produced by the Center for Security Policy.
“To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant.
“The letter alleges that three members of Huma’s family are ‘connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations.’ Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago. The letter and the report offer not one instance of an action, a decision, or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government. Nor does either document offer any evidence of a direct impact that Huma may have had on one of the U.S. policies with which the authors of the letter and the producers of the report find fault. These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.
“Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.
“Our reputations, our character, are the only things we leave behind when we depart this earth, and unjust attacks that malign the good name of a decent and honorable person is not only wrong; it is contrary to everything we hold dear as Americans.
“Some years ago, I had the pleasure, along with my friend, the Senator from South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, of traveling overseas with our colleague, then-Senator Hillary Clinton. By her side, as always, was Huma, and I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York - a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.
“I have every confidence in Huma’s loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well. All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”
Follow Ed O’Keefe on Twitter: @edatpost
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/john-mccain-defends-huma-abedin-against-accusations-shes-part-of-conspiracy/2012/07/18/gJQAFpxntW_blog.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpolitics
